Indelible
by Aergonaut
Summary: Roxas was being erased, slowly smudged out of everyone's memory so he could easily be removed. But some things aren't exactly easy to erase. RoxasNamine


**Author's Note: **A songifc based on the song _Yueguang Airen_, the theme song for _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_. The lyrics here are a translation of the original Mandarin lyrics for the song, not the English adaptation used in the English soundtrack. I used the verses only and left the choruses out.

**Premise: **In order to fully restore Sora, Roxas needed to be erased, digitized and re-implanted into Sora's being. To make the process less sudden, DiZ has opted to slowly cut all of Roxas' ties to everyone, slowly making everyone forget about Roxas, and Roxas about everyone else. But some things can't be erased…

---

"Indelible"

Roxas kissed her. He kissed her passionately, desperately, with every shred of his being, pouring everything he was now and ever would be into that one moment, that one instant. He ran his fingers over her pale cheek, tinged a faint almost imperceptible cherry, and through her blonde hair.

"This moment is the only moment," he thought to himself. "This instant the only instant." He pulled her closer, sweeping his hands down her back and pressing his body against hers. Roxas held her like a man drowning in a storm at sea holds a life-preserver, as though his very life depended on his grip being firm.

"If we can just hold on…"

_I awaken, lying in the moonlight_

_The waning moon makes me think of you_

_Who understands my desire, never to awaken_

_Fearing that when I open my eyes_

_You will not be there?_

Roxas woke with tears in his eyes, a cold sweat on his face, and a burning ache in his chest. His chest? Or maybe was it… his heart?

---

Naminé sat quietly at her seat in the white room. She briefly parted the layers of sheer curtains and looked out the window to the woods beyond. The sky was stained with the soft pinks and yellows of dawn, the soft sounds of the morning birds drifting into the room. Her sketchbook and pencils were still resting on the large table from when she had been here the day before. She opened the book's yellow cover and flipped through the drawings.

_My heart sinks into the ocean_

_Lead me there to find it once again_

_Love me ten thousand years_

_Love with your heart_

Naminé's drawings were becoming increasingly less detailed as each day passed. The last drawing in the book was barely more than a sketch. Two people embraced together in a kiss. At some point, she could remember knowing exactly who the lovers were. But now… their identities were almost a mystery.

She picked up a pencil and started coloring. There were only two things about the couple she was sure of. First, she knew his hair was brown. And second, she knew his name.

"Roxas…"

---

"Roxas!" The voice was familiar, that of one of his only friends. On the rooftop of Dive City he had come to call home, Roxas turned his gaze from the perpetual night sky to the access stairs.

"Axel," he said, nodding in acknowledgement of his friend's existence. Roxas stood up from his cot and went to the edge of the building. Hanging in the velvet sky was a crescent moon, the beginnings of the Organization's next great plan. He sighed and hung his head on his chest.

"What's going on?" Axel said, walking over the edge to stand by Roxas. "You look a little more depressed than usual," he laughed.

"Why isn't it done yet?" Roxas said fiercely after a long moment of silence. He gripped his head and rubbed his temples.

"Wh-what?"

"You don't have to play dumb," Roxas said. He turned his face to his friend and forced a smile. "I know what DiZ is doing."

"Oh, uh…" Axel tried for a second to think of some cover, but gave it up almost as quickly. Roxas always could see right through him. "He says it should be done soon."

_Does eternity exist?_

_My heart cannot let go_

_North Star, lead me on my way_

_Don't hide, seek out my love_

"I had that dream again."

"With the girl?"

Roxas nodded. "Who is she?"

"You know I ca—"

Roxas smiled. Tears were starting to gather at the edges of his eyes. He quickly turned his back to Axel, pulling the hood of his black coat over his head.

"Do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"When it's done, can you find her?"

"Roxas…"

"Tell her I love her."

---

Another dawn, another day. Naminé sat down at the table and opened her book. She could barely remember anything about the picture there. She looked at her pencils, like a traveler lost in the woods looks aimlessly at the surrounding forest.

"Which one comes next?"

A knock at the door, followed by the almost silent creaking of the hinges. A man poked his head into the room. "Can I come in?"

Naminé looked up. She didn't recognize the red hair or the blue eyes. She realized he must be part of the Organization when she saw the black coat. She nodded and turned back to her drawing.

While the man walked around the white room, scrutinizing the pictures hung here and there on the walls, Naminé continued to study her current drawing, hoping that somehow she would remember what was supposed to come next. For a long time, the room was silent.

"Did you want something?" Naminé softly asked as the man paused in front of the window.

"Y'know," he began, "I think I did." He stopped and looked at the girl sitting in chair. Something about her seemed so familiar, but for the life of him, he couldn't place it. He walked over to stand beside her and looked at the sketch in front of her.

"That's pretty good. Who is it?" he asked.

_I love you, every night I wait for you_

_My heart sleeps for love in a sea of moonlight_

_Loneliness_

_Who knows of whom I am thinking?_

Naminé thought for a moment. He saw in her eyes that she was scouring her entire memory for any clues, anything at all that might answer his question. After a moment, she simply sighed and hung her head on her chest, sinking into her chair.

"I don't know."

She put her head in her hands and collapsed onto the table. Hesitating for a second, he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, now…" he said, trying to be comforting. But she was already crying.

"But I do know," she began, her voice broken between sobs, "I love him."


End file.
